


tunnel vision (but only for you)

by bipolaryangxiaolong (rosesandcinnamon)



Series: full of life and full of love [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, the Usual Bullshit from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-01 05:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12150075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesandcinnamon/pseuds/bipolaryangxiaolong
Summary: After a split second dilemma between her fear of vulnerability and her need to be reassured, she reached out blindly, small hands searching.companion toand all we know is touch and go





	tunnel vision (but only for you)

**Author's Note:**

> look at me writing about those damn heterosexuals (jk summer is so pan it hurts).

“Mom?” Her voice echoed through an empty house, floorboards groaning beneath her feet. “Dad?” The house was lifeless, dimly lit, and cold. The formerly bright colors of the wallpaper were pale. The furniture remained, yet when she brushed her fingertips over the kitchen table, they came back with a layer of dust. A few rays of sunlight coming through the curtains illuminated the desolate room. It wasn’t even as if things had been left to come back to- everything was put away. None of her siblings’ toys or her parents’ books remained in the open. 

Summer continued to call for her family, tugging at her hood when the anxiety deepened. Turning back when it became too much for her, she went to the front door. It wouldn’t open. She yanked. She tried the lock. She dug her feet into the carpet, grounding herself, and pulled. It wouldn’t open. As she turned back around, dread grew in the pit of her stomach. The curtains were closed. She went towards them and reached for the ties. The draped fabric felt like sheets of metal. Her hands left prints in the dust. Despite the strength in her arms, the curtains remained closed.

Summer heard the floor creak upstairs. The sound paused for a moment, then continued. She had a strange knowledge that whatever it was, it wasn’t her family. She needed to leave. Even with another try, the curtains didn’t open. They didn’t even budge. She went back to the door, and it remained shut. The creaking moved to the stairs. Terror took root in her chest. She pressed her back to the door, scanning the room for anything to use as a weapon. There was nothing. Closing her eyes, she took a breath, and waited.

  
  
  


A cold but gentle hand on her arm would have made her fall out of bed if not for the way he caught her, and when she was about to screech, he interrupted the fear washing over her.

“Summer,” Qrow whispered. “You were dreaming.” She could barely see him in the darkness of their dorm, but she felt how close he was to her, a prickling awareness of her skin. “Are you okay?”

The question hung in the air, and as she sucked in a breath, she realized her cheeks are already wet. Summer shook her head, tears falling fresh, and she felt Qrow’s attitude change. His sleepy worry was elevated to a very real concern, shocked that his leader would even imply she was anything but fine. He asked “Can I help?” in a murmur. After a split second dilemma between her fear of vulnerability and her need to be reassured, she reached out blindly, small hands searching. She found his shoulders and pulled. Surprised, he got off the floor, letting her tug him underneath her blankets. 

He laid down on his side. Summer pressed herself as close as she could get, arms wrapped around him and her forehead against his chest. Qrow held her, cold hands warming up. He rubbed her back, feeling her sobs as well as hearing them. “You’re okay,” he said, emphasizing it by stroking her shoulderblades. She cried harder at the comfort, guilt for waking him and guilt for making him stay high in her chest. 

“I-” she could barely choke out the single syllable. He kissed her hair, heart hurting over her pain.

“It’s  _ alright _ ,” he breathed out, voice soft into her ear, as if he knew what she was thinking. She clutched the fabric of his shirt. “Take a breath, Summer, you’re going to make yourself sick.” He slowed his breathing for her, counting the seconds of in, hold, out. Summer started to match it, sobs quieting slowly.

Qrow held her until her tears stopped. He moved back, Summer whining quietly at the loss of his presence. Holding her face, he wiped away the salt on her cheek. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Please,” she begged, eyes stinging, and he stroked her hair in response, leaving a kiss on her forehead before gathering her into his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder. When he touched her back again, his fingers brushed the bare skin in between her shirt and her pajama pants. Summer shivered at the touch, pressing into it. He paused, braving his anxiety to spread his hands over her back, underneath her shirt. The contact of their skin was charged, and he hoped she couldn’t hear his heart beating faster.

She sighed, snuggling close, and Qrow took it as a good sign. He continued his soft movements, and as the fear drained from Summer’s body, she realized what this was. This was Qrow, cool and detached and perpetually guarded Qrow, letting her sob into his shirt, holding her with all the tenderness of a lover, allowing her to be vulnerable without any flippant comments. This was impossible. She had to be dreaming still. 

But she had done the same for him, that morning he cried to her. Her chest tightened, yet the warmth of his hands on her back were immediately soothing. “Sorry,” she whispered to him.

“Don’t be,” he told her, using the same hushed tone, and she allowed herself to relax in his hands.

“I was-”

He shushed her gently, adding “You don’t have to explain.” Summer felt more tears slip, and he tugged her closer, as if there was any room between them. She nestled her head against his chest. The gentleness of his hands almost hurt. There was no doubt anymore, with everything that had happened between them. Their feelings were mutual. The timid happiness she felt over it was more than her fear.  

Her thoughts quieted, and she fell asleep. Qrow moved his hands to touch her hair, playing with the soft strands. His heart fluttered at the very idea of their situation- she had to feel something for him to allow herself to be vulnerable, to let him comfort her. Summer was such the type to hide her pain. It bothered him. He craned his neck to kiss her head, shifting to be more comfortable.

  
  


When Summer woke, there was a moment of bliss, of warmth, of security. One moment before she understood that the two of them were in her bed  _ together _ , wrapped up in each other. Raven would never let it go if she saw, and something in her was terrified of the implications of that _togetherness_. She pushed herself away from Qrow, nearly falling to the floor. The abrupt movement woke him, and he blinked sleepily at her. “What’s wrong?” His voice was rough from sleep.

An anxious laugh broke out of her throat, and she made an excuse of “Time to get up!” before zipping into the bathroom. Qrow stared at the closed door, blearily trying to understand her change of heart. Looking over his shoulder at the window, he noted that the sun was barely rising. As he got out of her bed to stretch, he sighed. He glanced over to the other side of the room to see one red eye cracked open to stare at him, knowing gaze making him nervous. Qrow made a rude gesture at his sister, and he knew Raven would have done the same if not for Tai clinging to her. 

Summer would have gotten away with sneaking out as Qrow turned away if not for the squeak of the bathroom door. He turned and their eyes met. She fumbled for an excuse, coming up with “I have to go to the library!” as she sidled to the door of their room.

“It’s not open yet.” His reply was cold, stating a fact, and she winced. He was not happy with her.

“Well… I have to go study anyway….”

He didn’t even look at her. “Fine.” She left without a sound save for the creak of the door. His irritation simmered for a few hours as he tried to distract himself with leftover homework, stretching, as well as tinkering with his weapon. Raven and Tai took their sweet time getting up, being disgusting and coupley as they did it. When Tai was in the bathroom, she shoved him as he sat at his desk, hip colliding into his shoulder. 

“What do  _ you  _ want?” he hissed, barely casting a glance at her.

“Somebody’s pissy,” she said, and he could see the smirk on her face without looking. “Did Summer not want to canoodle with you after all?”

“Shut up.”

She didn’t reply, having already done her sisterly duty of being a nuisance, only rubbing her knuckles into his skull before walking away. 

Summer avoided their room and Qrow the entire morning, until he managed to catch her in the hallway before breakfast. Despite the way something in his chest clenched when he saw her small frame, his words were laced with a false enthusiasm, sarcasm dripping in his tone. “There you are. Come help me find my book.”

Summer squeaked as Qrow took her arm, turning her around in the busy hallway and directing her back towards their dorm. Once there, he shut the door behind them and faced her.

“What’s wrong?”

Putting her head down, she mumbled “Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“You are being such a hypocrite.” His voice was firm with a touch of anger, and it took all she had to not look up. “Summer.”

“What?” She snapped the question, pushing past him. He ignored the tone. 

“Why are you doing this?” Qrow followed her lead, watching her walk away from him. 

“I  _ said _ I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“When has that ever worked for me?” He could tell by the tension in her shoulders that she wasn’t responding well. “I just want to help you.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“You needed my help last night.” He regretted it almost immediately, as the anger in her voice stung.

“Leave me  _ alone _ , Qrow.” She curled her hands up into fists, and he was almost afraid she’d hit him. He pressed on anyway.

“Why should I when you never do?”

“It’s different.”

“Is  _ not _ .” Qrow felt like a child, arguing in such simple terms. “You’re being ridiculous-”

“Fine! I am!” Summer faced him, anger scrunching up her face. “I’m being a hypocrite and I don’t want to talk about my feelings and I don’t want help, especially not from you.” The outburst surprised both of them. Her heart dropped when she realized what she had said. 

He recoiled, shoving his hands into his pockets.  _ Especially not from you _ was all that stuck in his mind. He couldn’t help but spit out a “What does  _ that  _ mean?” and she tugged at her hood.

“I mean that you already have enough going on for you and I shouldn’t add to it.”

He wanted to be angry, wanted to ask what she was talking about, but the way she fidgeted with her cloak, moved her hands, as well as how those big silver eyes pleaded for understanding…. Fuck, he was so  _ weak  _ for her. His voice was soft. “I want to be there for you like you are for me. Is that so bad?”

She stepped forward, gazing up at him, and his chest clenched when she reached for his hands. He gave them. Summer curled their fingers together, searching for words. When she did speak, she lowered her head to avoid his eyes. “I don’t want to be a burden on anyone,” she said, and added a hesitant repeat of  “Especially not you.”

Qrow dropped one of her hands to touch her face, tilting it back up. “We’re partners, Summer,” he murmured, and oh, Summer loved the sound of his voice when he said her name. “You can rely on me.” 

Her reply was the gentle  _ thump _ of her head falling against his chest. He smiled, hand on her cheek still.  Slowly releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her waist instead, his chest glowed with affection. She made a sound of contentment, hugging him. 

_ I’m so in love with you _ was his only thought. There was a quiet certainty in his heart, slowly cementing, that the feeling was mutual.

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't noticed lately, I'm really trying to improve my writing techniques and all that fancy stuff, so I would absolutely love some feedback! I also have a Flown North [moodboard](https://badass-bunny.tumblr.com/post/165534632547/i-think-i-was-blind-before-i-met-you-summerqrow#notes) that I really love! Be careful for spoilers on my blog in October!


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